Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been provided with extra security after reportedly receiving an extortion letter demanding Rs50 lakh (US$ 103,091). News reports say his security has been upgraded to ‘Z’ category – the highest level in India - and he has a 45-strong team protecting him. Police officials said Dhoni's family received the extortion letter on Monday. Earlier this month, Dhoni travelled unescorted to the Ranchi airport after seemingly being unsatisfied with the level of security given to him. He also applied for a licence for a .9mm pistol.

He is the only genuine double All Black, representing New Zealand at Test level in both cricket and rugby. One of Wellington's – and New Zealand's – most remarkable sportsmen, Eric Tindill, turned 98 last Thursday.

Tindill also umpired in Tests and was a Wellington and New Zealand selector. For the past four years, he has been the world's oldest surviving Test player and the second-oldest Test player ever, after Francis McKinnon, who played one game for England in 1879 and lived to be 98 years 324 days.

A left-hand opening batsman and wicketkeeper, Tindill toured England with Curly Page's team in 1937. On the way home he had the distinction of catching Don Bradman off Jack Cowie's bowling – the only time Bradman played against a New Zealand side. The match, between New Zealand and South Australia, was played in Adelaide to help cover debts incurred in England. Cowie and Tindill were delighted with their prized wicket, but others reckoned they cost New Zealand Cricket a fortune. Bradman was dismissed for 11 in the opening over on a Saturday morning and thousands of spectators, queuing for entry, simply turned around and left.

The secret of Yuvraj Singh’s success in India’s record chase in the first Test in Chennai could be that he ‘pretended’ it was a one-day game. Gary Kirsten, India’s coach, has said Yuvraj was advised by the team management “to pretend he was playing a one day innings”.

Yuvraj scored an unbeaten 85 and added a match-winning 163 with Sachin Tendulkar on his return to the Test side after eight months, following a phenomenal run in the ODIs against England. "Yuvraj has felt the heat but you need just one innings to turn it around. We told him to pretend he was playing a one day innings, and to play positively," Kirsten told television channel Neo Cricket.

"England were on top but we still felt that we could win. Then it was up to England to make a plan. We went into the fifth day saying that we could do it. The players were nervous but when you have Tendulkar at the crease, playing as he did, the nervousness seems to disappear.”

The Punjab Cricket Association has confirmed that floodlights will not be turned on at the PCA Stadium in Mohali in case bad light threatens to disrupt the second Test between India and England. The forecast in Mohali for the first three days of the Test is overcast and cloudy, with fog and bad light already a common feature at this time of the year in northern India.

MP Pandove, the PCA secretary, said that like in the recent ODI between India and England in Kanpur, the lights would not be used because of a prior agreement. "We sent a proposal to the England and Wales Cricket Board and the Board of Control for Cricket in India for the use of floodlights in case of bad light," Pandove told PTI. "But both the teams have agreed to natural playing conditions."

Pandove said a proposal to start play 30 minutes earlier had also been rejected. "In winter months daylight fades quite quickly here. We had asked for the scheduled start of play to be advanced, but the teams have preferred to stick to the original time."

IS Bindra, the PCA president, was wary of the Test being limited. "Instead of having five days of cricket with 450 overs, we are going to short-change the public by about 75 overs," he said "And if there is rain — there is a 10% chance of rain on two of the days — the game is going to be further curtailed."

England's blind team have retained the Ashes, taking an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series with one match to play. Nineteen-year-old Luke Sugg scored his maiden England hundred to seal an historic win, finishing on 112 not out, after the second ODI was lost to rain. The Ashes series for blind cricketers began in 2004 with a 3-2 win for England on home soil, and this is the first series to be played in Australia.

However, members of the Australian team claim they have been disadvantaged by a blind English allrounder who sees too well. The Australian Blind Cricket Council is expected to lodge a complaint about Nathan Foy with the World Blind Cricket Council.

Two Australian blind cricketers told the Australian they were gagged from commenting public. The players reportedly said the team was angry that Australian authorities had refused to lodge a protest against Foy. Because he is classified B1, the most serious of three gradings of visual impairment in blind cricket, Foy's score was doubled to 200, giving England a total of 324 and a 54-run win over Australia, reported the Australian.

	The new-look New Zealand jersey © Getty Images

"I don't mind the jersey being redesigned and modified taking into account new fabric, but the fern leaf and three stripes should never be forsaken.” Reid said the jerseys were not the sort that could be treasured for a lifetime.

"It's all for the sake of marketing and I don't care if Adidas has any problem with the three stripes. They don't make jerseys and we were wearing them long beforehand." Reid also said he didn’t like the use of Black Caps in referring to the New Zealand team. "It is New Zealand against West Indies, not the Black Caps, as they often put on the scoreboard these days."

There have been thousands of police and hundreds of commandos swarming all over Chennai during this Test, and India must have spent a fortune on security in the wake of the Mumbai terrorist strikes. But one journalist was rather grateful for all the snipers and army personnel while she was trying to spend a penny: the BBC's intrepid and unfailingly cheerful reporter, Alison Mitchell, managed to lock herself in the ladies' lavatory according to Peter Hayter's enjoyable piece at the Mail on Sunday.

All this protection is certainly worth the hassle if it can save a damsel in distress.

Viswanathan Anand, who recently retained the World Chess Championship after beating Russia's Vladimir Kramnik, was felicitated by Mahendra Singh Dhoni for his achievement in Chennai. "Every sport needs an icon, and I cannot think of a better person than Anand in Chess," Dhoni said. "If youngsters have a role model like him, there is no reason for them not to succeed."

Dhoni lauded Anand's feat as a great occasion for India and said he was "honoured to share the dais" with him. However, Dhoni claimed he was no pushover in chess either. "I'll beat him (Anand) at chess if he plays left-handed," he quipped.

Anand wished the Indian team success in the Chennai Test. "Good luck for the next four days, though I hope it gets over in three."

Boris Johnson, the left-field London mayor, has backed cricket’s inclusion in the 2012 Olympics that will be hosted by the city ... even though it’s an impossible campaign. "It is high time we install in the Olympics Twenty20 cricket," Johnson said at a business lunch in London.

Last month the London Assembly passed a unanimous motion to lobby international cricket authorities and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to include the sport. “Let’s face it, if they want to draw in south Asian audiences to watch the Olympics, they have to have cricket,” Murad Qureshi, the London Assembly member who moved the motion, said. “India is one of the biggest markets out there, we have to make it relevant to people.”

Previous host nations had been able to introduce a national sport as a “demonstration” event in the Games, but the IOC changed the rule for Beijing 2008, allowing China to showcase a traditional discipline as part of a “cultural Olympiad”. Cricket, which last made a five-ringed appearance in 1900 in Paris, cannot be an official sport until at least 2020, with the finalisation of events for those Games occurring in 2013.

South Africa don't have much time to tune up ahead of their Test series against Australia and had to make a late change to their practice schedule the day after arriving in Perth.

Their kit hadn't landed with them from Johannesburg, so they had to switch to take the afternoon slot at the WACA while bats, pads and helmets made their way across the Indian Ocean.

"A message from media liaison officer Michael Owen-Smith arrived just a day after the South Africans landed in Australia, to say they had to change their practice plans today due to “unforeseen circumstances”, reported Business Day. "Closer examination of that suitably inscrutable phrase revealed that the South African team’s luggage had been delayed back in Johannesburg."

England's decision to resume their tour of India has given the image of the players a huge boost. While they have insisted the prospect of IPL deals was nowhere near their minds as discussions took place, there is no doubt that they are a more attractive buy.

"The gesture of going back to play in India will be very appreciated by cricket fans in India," Vijay Mallya, the owner of the Bangalore Royal Challengers told the Daily Telegraph. "It is a positive statement that everyday life in India can survive terrorist attacks. There will be a lot of people cheering for the England team and showing their appreciation over the next couple of weeks."

An unnamed IPL owner told the same paper that Kevin Pietersen would be "able to name his own price" after showing fine leadership skills in recent weeks.

However, the problem remains that England players will only be available for the IPL within a small, 15-day window between the end of the West Indies tour and the start of the international season at home.

"We are either interested in a player or not irrespective of whether they play two Test matches in December," Tim Wright, the chief executive of the Deccan Chargers, said. "We have taken a view on the people we want. Their price will be more to do with availability than playing in these two Test matches."

	Kevin Pietersen and his team-mates are surely helping India recover from the horror of the Mumbai attacks © AFP

After making the brave decision to go ahead with the Test series in India, Kevin Pietersen and his team-mates have made another gesture that will surely win over the hosts: they will donate 50% of their match-fees from the first Test in Chennai to the families of the victims of the recent Mumbai terror attacks.

Alastair Cook, the opener, read out a statement from the team. "Following a very difficult period for the last two weeks, the England cricket team would like to recognise the following reasons for returning to India for the Test series.

"As an open and public statement of support for the Indian people following the tragic events in Mumbai recently. To extend our sincerest sympathies to those families that have lost loved ones in the Mumbai attacks. As cricketers, first and foremost to win a Test match series against India. Finally, the England players will donate half their match fees from the first Test match to the families of the victims of the Mumbai attacks."

Cook said: "We have made a massive pact this morning at our meeting when we came up with the statement that this is it and nothing else can distract us from playing cricket. It was something that everyone wanted to get across because as a side we felt we wanted to do it."

	A pull-out over security fears loomed but England were convinced to go ahead with the tour © AFP

England’s decision to resume their tour of India despite the terror attacks in Mumbai was bound to evoke strong reactions from Pakistan and Rashid Latif, the former wicketkeeper, has spoken out against the decision. Latif said England were driven by greed, purely due to India’s financial clout in the cricket world.

"Anything can happen anywhere and when teams can accept security assurances from the BCCI and government, why can't they do the same when the PCB and the government urges them to tour?" Latif was quoted as saying in the Times. "The truth is no one can dare ignore the money India is putting into the game. It is nothing but greed. If India didn't have the financial clout no team would bother to go there so soon after the Mumbai attacks."

Latif was reacting after several teams in the recent past have refused to tour Pakistan due to security concerns. Ricky Ponting, the Australian captain, said recently that a safe environment for cricket in India was crucial for the world game but Latif countered that by implying that Pakistan on that other hand has been at the receiving end of unfair treatment by cricket boards.

"All this talk about security concerns by Australia and other teams now stands exposed. I think Ponting should be honest enough to say that the cricket world needs India only because of its huge commercial market for the game," Latif said. "It has nothing to do with security. It is terrible the way the ICC and other boards are insisting on cricket resuming in India. What happened in Mumbai was terrible, but if teams can play in India why not in Pakistan?"

Neil D'Costa, a former Sydney grade cricketer, found his niche as a coach of emerging talented players and among his notable pupils are Australian vice-captain Michael Clarke and New South Wales batsman Phillip Hughes.

But he finds himself on the verge of accepting the position of batting coach at a Nagpur academy at the request of Indian board president Shashank Manohar. "There's no jobs here for me," D'Costa, who runs a private coaching school, told the Sydney Morning Herald. "I'm not recognised by any governing body here. I've only been able to get recognition by the work I do privately. I've never been asked by NSW to coach at any level worth talking about and I've never been spoken to by Cricket Australia. There's been no recognition that I've helped develop Clarke or Hughes or any other guys."

While he would rather work in his own country, D'Costa said there was "little or no chance" for coaches unless they had played first-class cricket. "Troy Cooley had to go overseas, that's how he made his name. The BCCI is impressed by what I've done developing juniors, and going there could be a good option for my family," said D'Costa.

Former Indian Test player Subroto Banerjee, who works with D'Costa, said the BCCI wanted to make Nagpur the best academy in India. "The big names are all trying to get in at Nagpur. People like [David] Gower and [Viv] Richards are great names and can give talks about experience but for coaching [at the] grassroots, you need coaches like Neil."

The first Test between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in Mirpur may not be the most mouth-watering contest of the year, but statistically, it may not be forgotten for a while. The fourth day (December 29) has been declared a rest day on account of the parliamentary elections. The concept of a rest day was scrapped during the mid-90s, and the previous such instance was back in December 2001, during the first Test between Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe at the SSC. The players had a break due to Poya day celebrations in the country.

Normal service resumes from the second Test onwards.

A proposed stadium in Bhatinda, one of the oldest cities in Punjab, has apparently hit a roadblock. Work on what is supposed to be a top-notch cricket venue was supposed to begin on December 8 of last year, the same day as the Punjab chief minister's birthday, but nothing has happened in the last 12 months. According to Bathinda Development Authority (BDA) administrator Kamal Kishore Yadav, the 25-acre project cost was estimated between Rs 80-100 crore and was backed by the likes of Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) president IS Bindra. But apart from barbed wire to cordon off the land, not a brick has been laid.

The project has reportedly been tossed back and forth between the PCA, BDA and Punjab Sports Department, reports the Indian Express, and is now with the Punjab Infrastructure Development Board (PIDB) for execution.

“We have almost finalised the terms and conditions and the bidding process would be started soon,” said PIDB managing director Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, who could not give any time frame.

Bhatinda may be proud host to Asia's biggest railway junction, but as for a cricket stadium ... well, let's just say that one's just not been able to get off the tracks.

Having shouted themselves hoarse for catches and stumpings many, many times during their Test careers, Shane Warne and Adam Gilchrist will now go on air. The two Australian legends will join Nine's team over the coming weeks on short-term deals. However, unlike when they played together, Warne and Gilchrist won't share air space together. Rather unfortunate, for that should have made for interesting insights - the two bring the experience of 735 international games - and witty banter.

Warne will commentate the Sydney and Melbourne Tests, as well as the Twenty20 internationals, while Gilchrist will call a Twenty20 match and seven one-dayers.

Relieved of his duties as Pakistan's coach, Geoff Lawson will also slip back behind the mic for ABC when the Sydney Test starts.

Its really up to you as to how you view next year's Ashes, but Sussex are clearly keeping an eye on profits.

Next June, from June 24-27, the Australians play their first warm-up of the tour against Sussex at Hove, and the local administrators have confirmed that tickets will cost £35 a day. Want to watch all four days? Be ready to fork out £140, with a serious chance that rain will scupper at least a bit of the cricket. A bit steep, you might say, given the current economic situation.

Now compare that to a season's standard membership worth £159, which allows a spectator to watch every game at Hove except Twenty20. Sussex have upped the asking price, so now lets hope, unlike a few times in the past, that they field a strong side to make it worth the dough.

The Ashes start July 8 in Cardiff and conclude August 24 at The Oval.

	© AFP

It’s not a bad strategy to practise in the nets alongside Sachin Tendulkar. Mumbai women’s side did just that as the batsman geared up for the upcoming England Tests, and got some welcome advice from Tendulkar after he was done with his session.

"He talked to our batters as well as bowlers. He told them about how to become mentally strong, on the importance of pacing their innings and how to avoid getting bogged down in case the rival captain adopts a 7-2 field. It was very useful," Anjali Pednekar, the coach, told PTI. "He also told them to see the success men's team and how well they have done and aspire to emulate them.”

Mumbai’s women are not the only bunch seeking words of wisdom from Tendulkar. Mithali Raj, the India women’s batsman, said the team are hoping for tips from Tendulkar and Mahendra Singh Dhoni during their preparations for the World Cup in Australia next year.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s criticism of leaks from selection meetings included a suggestion that if what went on inside closed doors had to come out then the whole meeting might as well be televised. Dhoni may have been only half-serious but the idea found favour with Kishan Rungta, a former national selector. In fact Rungta made a similar suggestion way back in 1997 - he had told the Kolkata-based Telegraph that the selection meetings could be telecast live just as the proceedings in Parliament.

Reacting to Dhoni’s statement, Rungta said his point made 11 years ago still held true. “Why should the deliberations be such a secret?” Rungta said. “Bringing about transparency via a live telecast would, in my opinion, be healthy for Indian cricket. It’s important for players to know what the selectors and the two co-opted members [captain, coach] of the committee think about them. Indeed, it’s important for players to know where they stand. I’m glad that Dhoni thinks on similar lines.”

Rungta said his suggestion, conveyed verbally to then BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya, was rejected as being too controversial. “I’d be happy if the present dispensation takes steps in that direction.”